Originally designed to protect heirloom furniture and expensive upholstery from everyday wear and tear, slipcovers have reached new heights to meet the needs of contemporary modern living. Now you can buy furniture that comes with its own tailor-made slipcovers, blending the look and fit of custom upholstery with the quick cleaning and redesign ease of slipcovers.
Given their practicality, versatility, durability, easy-care and inexpensive, fashionable good looks, it's no wonder that more designers are putting their names on these home furnishing fashions, and more slipcovers grace the homes of families everywhere. The trend towards furniture that comes with its own slipcovers means moderately-priced furniture with designer details and custom features can fit in a multitude of settings without the usual concern we might have over more custom pieces.
Custom Details
Savvy consumers are demanding coordinated design details, like those provided by Custom Slipcover Designers. Local Slipcover designers create stylized details, finishing touches and custom-coordinated fabrics exclusively for your furniture. These design details distinguish your personal slipcover from retail purchased slipcovers.
Versatility
Most custom slipcovers do not require zippers or Velcro. Retail ready-made slipcover require zipper construction in the back of each piece and Velcro closures on the underside to ensure that the slipcovers is a one size fits all look. Custom slipcovers create a formal to casual look or winter to summer look and can be changed as often as you change your clothes.
What’s your style?
Custom slipcovers offer styles that meet varying consumer lifestyles. Clients may choose from a Cottage Style featuring a traditional round arm, Milan which possesses an elegant, contemporary curved arm and Metro, an edgy approach to modern design in a square arm construction.
Select Fabric and Color
Fabrics should always be tested for shrinkage, strength, color fastness, stain resistance and other factors. Cotton and cotton blends are best for durable slipcovers. Create a designer look with cotton velvets, chenille, linen and silks. For the ruff and rugged look heavyweight twills, washable micro-suede (polyester) and denims are great!
Methods of Sewing Slipcovers
Ready - Made Slipcovers - The most common slipcovers are mass-market construction using generic patterns. In order to fit as many furniture sizes and types as possible, these patterns are designed to fit a size range rather than a specific length, width and height. Also they're designed to fit the most common style of furniture. If your furniture is not this style, the cover won't work.
Some manufacturers have switched to stretch fabrics or custom sizing the generic pattern to a specific length and width (semi-custom) to help reduce the amount of tucking and tying necessary with standard ready-made slipcovers. These techniques, however, don't eliminate the furniture style problem.
Custom Tailored Slipcovers - The best possible fit, of course, comes from having your slipcovers custom tailored to the size and shape of your furniture. Besides a great fit, custom tailored slipcovers also include separate cushion and pillow covers, zippered closures, covered cord accents and your choice of skirt finishes - features not available with ready-made or semi-custom fit slipcovers. Custom tailored slipcovers can be made using four different methods.
- Pin Fit Methods
- Reverse Pin Method
- Pattern Making Methods
- Outline (right side out) Method
Slipcover Summit 2007, Boston, MA
Pin Fit Method Pattern Making Method
As a slipcover professional, there are several methods to use.
Home Fashions U offer the outline method which is great for a beginning sewer as well as the professional seamstress.
The
Slipcover Summit held in June, is an annual event for slipcover professionals across the United States. The location rotates from the west coast to the east coast, allowing students to attend from all over the US. June 2009 it will be held in Seattle, WA. The instructors are traveling from Massachusetts, Indiana, Arizona, and Florida. The professional slipcover instructors volunteer to teach and share their knowledge as professionals in the custom slipcover industry.
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